TeTeT 1520 Posted October 11, 2023 (edited) Text from blog post: 10 years of USS Nimitz in Arma 3 Time has swiftly marched on, marking a decade since the inception of the USS Nimitz project in Arma 3. Reflecting on those times, I find myself transported back to the year 2013, unaware of the exciting journey that lay ahead. It all began in mid-September of that year when a mod emerged on the BI forums, crafted by none other than Saul and John Spartan. They presented the F/A-18 Super Hornet for Arma 3. Given my affinity for flight simulations, particularly reminiscing about Thirdwire's Strike Fighter series, I eagerly embraced this new addition. I downloaded the mod, took to the skies over Stratis, and marveled at what I could achieve. With the Super Hornet's naval orientation and my growing interest in aerial and amphibious assault scenarios, an idea began to take shape. Could I fashion an improvised carrier-like island using in-game objects? The answer was a resounding yes. I embarked on the endeavor, ultimately arranging a collection of H-Barriers into the iconic form of an aircraft carrier. You can witness the result in action on this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUyW_-m57pQ. While my interaction with the Nimitz mod in Arma 2 had been limited, it felt only natural to revisit it. I obtained the mod from the now-defunct Armaholic site and introduced it to the Arma 3 realm. Fortunately, my background in coding allowed me to navigate the mod's C++-like syntax without trepidation. I ventured into making some initial edits and shared a patch via the BI forums. Initially, it was merely intended as a patch for the Arma 2 mod. However, fate had other plans, thanks to Foxhound, renowned in the Armaholic community. Foxhound reached out to JDog, the original creator of the Nimitz mod for Arma 2. In an act of generosity, JDog granted me the permissions needed to release an adapted version of Nimitz for Arma 3. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of a thrilling chapter in the USS Nimitz project's evolution. On the 11th of October 2013, a pivotal moment occurred in the history of the Nimitz for Arma 3 project when the thread "Preview release: Nimitz for Arma3" was established on the BI forums. Since that momentous day, a series of significant updates and transformations have shaped this endeavor. In its nascent stages, it closely mirrored the Arma 2 mod, with a smattering of configuration adjustments here and there. However, as the years unfolded, a dedicated effort unfolded to rewrite a substantial portion of scripts and tweak configurations to enhance its reliability. The project's vitality owes much to a passionate cadre of volunteers who contributed fresh textures and innovative ideas. Among them, Odyseus and Jones stand out, with Odyseus continuing to grace the team with model enhancements and textures throughout the years. Indeed, the Nimitz for Arma 3 project has been, in many respects, a testament to the power of community-driven collaboration. Lacking extensive graphic and modeling skills, I leaned on the talents of fellow community members to enrich the mod. An important milestone was achieved through the reconfiguration of the Nimitz model into smaller, more manageable components. The Arma 3 engine grappled with collision and walkable parts of the model exceeding dimensions of approximately 50-60 meters in width and length. Odyseus took on the task of dissecting and reassembling the Nimitz into more reliable, smaller segments. Nevertheless, on specific maps and locations, challenges persist with road and geo lods. The typical workaround involves shifting the carrier slightly and attempting the operation anew. Scripting-wise, a significant stride was made by eradicating all global variables from the original scripts, enabling the coexistence of multiple carriers within the same mission. However, to maintain backward compatibility, the legacy global variables remained intact within the mod for an extended period. On the configuration front, the introduction of the function module system played a pivotal role in furnishing the carrier's functionality. Initially, players needed to place various modules in the mission to unleash the carrier's full potential. Over time, these modules were seamlessly integrated into the Nimitz setup system, necessitating placement only when a player sought to modify a specific module. The arrival of the Eden 3D editor in Arma 3 ushered in new opportunities and challenges for the mod. Leshrack's addition to the team brought forth an initialization script designed to accommodate both the Eden environment and missions. Concurrently, the entire initialization functions underwent restructuring while preserving backward compatibility. A significant juncture emerged when Arma 3 mods found their way onto the Steam Workshop. Previously, distribution primarily occurred through Armaholic and my personal website. Thanks to Rory's initiative, a dedicated Steam Workshop page was established (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=643530417), amassing a substantial following of 160,265 subscribers as of the writing of this piece. Yet another significant milestone in the evolution of the Nimitz project occurred with the release of Jacky's instructive video, aptly titled "Nimitz Instructions," available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OAfNEuwXfw. In the past, the project's documentation had been somewhat sparse and fragmented across various files. However, Jacky's video provided a comprehensive and thorough exploration of the carrier's inner workings within the Arma 3 environment, bridging the gap in understanding and knowledge. As time progressed, it became evident that not all players sought constant updates, favoring instead a stable platform with well-defined limitations. Thus, in 2019, the Nimitz Experimental build was conceived (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1697731012), aimed at pushing the carrier's boundaries without the constraints of backward compatibility. While updates may not be frequent, we hold aspirations of introducing more changes in celebration of the project's remarkable 10th anniversary. Edited October 11, 2023 by TeTeT highlight heading 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted October 12, 2023 Stay tuned for an imminent release of Nimitz 2023 once the explosions are under control 😉 Cheers, TeTeT 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ANZACSAS Steven 393 Posted October 12, 2023 On 10/11/2023 at 1:02 PM, TeTeT said: Foxhound reached out to JDog, the original creator of the Nimitz mod for Arma 2. In an act of generosity, JDog granted me the permissions needed to release an adapted version of Nimitz for Arma 3. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of a thrilling chapter in the USS Nimitz project's evolution. JDog is a legend.If it wasnt for his determination and huge aspirations we still might not have a carrier in this game.And considering the Nimitz and the SA-6 SAM and guns mod also was a part of the inspiration and "Proof of concept" for the Jets DLC.He'll always be remembered as a Legend in the Armaverse.🤘 Years ago, during the development of the mod I spoke to him regarding catapult and arresting sounds. We never got around to implementing them.I still have them and can help implement them if your interested? Anyone remember this ? - https://ibb.co/BNxzb57 https://ibb.co/pn9wg5b https://ibb.co/QKJtq90 Edit - Couldn't seem to insert pic.:( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted October 13, 2023 I believe we're set with arrest and cat sounds, thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted October 14, 2023 Hi, I had planned to make Nimitz 2023 publicly available around this time, but I'm facing a few issues: The new launch sequence has a 1 frame halt at the end when the keyframe animation ends and the setVelocityModelSpace push starts. No idea if that's fixable at all and I consider reverting back to the old setVelocityModelSpace method, which looks all wrong with AI planes that steer left or right off the cat There is something spooky going on at catapult 1. Probably fits the season - when the plane is attached to the catapult mempoint, the throttle gets auto set to 0; I believe it's a problem with the road lod interfering with something else, but I have not found a fix yet Overall testing of Nimitz 2023 and Nimitz Experimental has been pretty low, I guess more issues will be uncovered, so the state is not really finished. If you're interested in helping out, check out Nimitz Experimental at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1697731012 Cheers, TeTeT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted October 15, 2023 On the throttle problem of cat 1, I tested this now extensively and found out that when the carrier is placed over land, the attachTo and raising throttle works as intended. Note the throttle at 23 percent over land: Contrary, over sea the throttle resets to 0 as soon as shift is released: I found that when I remove the road lod the attachTo works over sea too, but I was not able to fix whatever is broken in the road lod. Anyone got any insight in what might have gone wrong there? I make the underlying p3d available at: https://tetet.de/arma/arma3/nimitz/experimental/carrier_3.zip Cheers, TeTeT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted October 16, 2023 Some progress at least, despite the catapult 1 setback. Correct video: 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gatordev 215 Posted October 22, 2023 @TeTeT I'm sorry you're not getting much (or any) response here. I'm not huge into the recreation of the CVW launch/life, but know that I (and I'm guessing many) really appreciate your continued efforts. It's a shame that the forums have grown so quiet when it's clear there's still plenty of creation going on in the Workshop (and only 33.9% pirated!!!...I keed!). Thanks for your continued effort and thanks for bringing us both a carrier AND an amazing Superhornet. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted October 23, 2023 14 hours ago, gatordev said: Thanks for your continued effort and thanks for bringing us both a carrier AND an amazing Superhornet. Thanks for reaching out. Indeed it feels a bit weird to keep the thread alive almost alone 😉 I suspect there are still a few dozen users of Nimitz out there. I unfortunately have never found a solution for the most pressing of all problems, that at times the carrier surface is unstable and people and objects fall through. In my testing it's most of the time rock solid, but I rarely visit every corner of the carrier then. Flight deck operations have been lately on the table most times... Cheers, TeTeT 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted October 25, 2023 And more updates to Experimental: 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfod-d_snakebite 80 Posted October 25, 2023 Well I prefer the Nimitz 😍 instead the CVN-83 Carrier. Thanks for your super-hero job TeTeT 😃 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TeTeT 1520 Posted November 9, 2023 If you want to test the AI launch sequence right now, try: https://tetet.de/arma/arma3/nimitz/experimental/missions/28launchEvents.stratis.zip Cheers, TeTeT 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
